The zircons were determined to be 4.4 billion years old. This indicates the Earth’s crust formed about 160 million years after the formation of the universe. The discovery indicates that Earth was capable of retaining water from condensation or from impact from an extraterrestrial source. Two of the necessities for life as it is known on Earth are rock and water.

The scientists used atom-probe tomography and secondary ion mass spectrometry to produce the most exact date for the zircons in the early crust sample that have ever been known. Lead isotope analysis and oxygen isotope analysis confirmed the age of the zircons in the Earth’s oldest known crust.

The research proves that Earth cooled and became habitable much earlier than was previously thought. The probable collision with Mars that formed the Earth’s Moon may have served to accelerate the cooling of the Earth’s crust from a molten state according to the researchers.

A new 3D video taken by Mars Express shows the weird stripes the surface of Phobos has. Scientists cannot yet explain how those lines formed on the surface but there are a couple theories. Geraldine Cols Azocar (@geraldinecolsa) explains us what they are.

The European Space Agency's Rosetta team published a series of images on Monday that show the Philae lander's fateful journey across Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on Nov. 12, 2014. The photos capture the last 30-minutes of the lander's ten-year j...